The Sunday Briefing: Darren Elias Leads WCOOP $10,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller

September 10, 2012

Mickey Doft Live Reporter

The second Sunday of the 2012 World Championship of Online Poker didn't produce any new bracelet winners (each of the three events that began on Sunday were two-day events), but plenty of tournament action went on nonetheless. Aside from most of the Sunday majors running, WCOOP second chance events also produced big winners. Carter "cswidler" Swidler earned $115,620, the biggest awarded prize on Sunday, for his win in a second chance event. Joining him in the winner circle was Ariel "ArielBahia" Celestino, who also took down a WCOOP second chance tournament.

Among the WCOOP events still in progress is the $10,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller event. Of the remaining 31 players that will return to action on Day 2, Darren "darrenelias" Elias is the chip leader.

PokerStars WCOOP-22: $10,300 NL Hold'em High Roller ($1.25M Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$10,000+$300	297	$2,970,000

The first of the three High-Roller WCOOP events began Sunday as a field of 297 participated in Event #22. After 21 levels on Day 1, only 31 players remain with hopes of capturing the $574,695 first-place prize. Those who cashed but fell short of making Day 2 included Steve "Mr. Tim Caum" O'Dwyer (45th - $17,820), Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron (42nd - $17,820), Steve "Illini213" Barshak (38th - $17,820), Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu (37th - $17,820), Greg "gregy20723" Merson (35th - $19,305), and Bryn "BrynKenney" Kenney (33rd - $29,305).

Still in the hunt are Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver (9th - 201,495), Grayson "gray31" Ramage (12th - 158,764), Michael "Skämmes" Tureniec (13th - 156,253), Elio "smokrokflock" Fox (19th - 105,685), Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka (20th - 91,123), David "Betudontbet" Emmons (27th - 66,045), and Steve "gboro780" Gross (29th - $48,794).

Leading the way into Day 2 is Darren "darrenelias" Elias. Here is how the top five chip counts look:

Place	Player	Chips
1	Darren "darrenelias" Elias	352,134
2	Jonathan "MONSTER_DONG" Karamalikis	293,922
3	Shhh00kem	266,803
4	ISILDRooN	218,760
5	Artem205	218,444

PokerStars WCOOP 2nd Chance 22: $1,050 NL Hold'em

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$1,000+$50	615	$615,000

Shannon "basebal1b" Shorr (11th - $7,072.50), Will "molswi47" Molson (12th - $7,072.50), and Ravi "govshark2" Raghavan (13th - $5,842.50) each fell short of the final table in the WCOOP 2nd Chance 22 tournament. The final table was still stacked with high-stakes regulars, and Carter "cswidler" Swidler emerged as the champ for $115,620.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Carter "cswidler" Swidler	$115,620
2	Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen	$84,255
3	Gavin "gavz101" Cochrane	$62,115
4	Anton "ekziter" Astapov	$46,740
5	Jesper "KipsterDK" Hougaard	$32,841
6	Grayson "gray31" Ramage	$26,137.50
7	Patrick "Bandano" Renkers	$19,987.50
8	CHRiiiiiiiiK	$13,837.50
9	Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul	$9,225

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($300K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$500+$30	1,069	$534,500

The Sunday 500 saw notable finishes from Thomas "Kallllle" Pedersen (10th - $4,757.05), Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (11th - $4,757.05), and Jimmie "AlusivPnkBny" Guinther (14th - $3,688.05). The outright victory and $92,254.70 top prize went to "all in 2526."

Place	Player	Prize
1	all in 2526	$92,254.70
2	modogrinder	$66,812.50
3	pads1161	$50,777.50
4	Chappolini	$37,201.20
5	Artur "pokerturo" Koren	$26,457.75
6	a$$ou	$21,112.75
7	Zohair "pakmanmma" Karim	$15,767.75
8	GENEWUA	$10,422.75
9	Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka	$5,879.50

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($225K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,296	$437,500

Those who came up just short of the final table in the $109 Sunday Rebuy included Tyler "brainwash" Cornell (10th - $4,375), Iulian-Georgian "Ruxandescu" Ruxandescu (12th - $4,375), David "Betudontbet" Emmons (18th - $2,625), Dane "WatchTheSea" Miller (20th - $1,881.25), Josh "JBT449" Bergman (24th - $1,881.25), and Scott "gunning4you" Seiver (25th - $1,881.25). Earning the win following a heads-up deal was "allucan3at" for $71,759.58.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	allucan3at	$71,759.58
*2	Florian "florianm1" Marty	$66,227.92
3	bullyon	$43,750
4	murballz66	$32,812.50
5	Mike "Pipedream17" Dietrich	$22,968.75
6	AL.PATSINO	$18,593.75
7	san the one	$14,218.75
8	zwacke	$9,843.75
9	CuAt69UsdSng	$6,125

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars WCOOP 2nd Chance 21: $109 NL Hold'em

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	3,580	$358,000

Notable finishes in the WCOOP 2nd Chance 21 tournament included Keith "DaMurdera3" Ferrera (11th - $2,201.70), Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko (29th - $823.40), and Markus "MarkusG91" Garberg (31st - $823.40). Following a four-handed deal, "GENERRRRRAL" was the survivor.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	GENERRRRRAL	$36,767.54
*2	jonsim91	$39,063.10
*3	ottoman09	$39,888.98
*4	Felipe "fcarrico" Carrio	$32,671.38
5	akb1	$15,325.98
6	John "BlackFourz" May	$11,635
7	WWWallace79	$8,055
8	xredschix	$4,475
9	Tridynamo	$2,864

*denotes four-handed deal

PokerStars WCOOP 2nd Chance 23: $530 NL Hold'em

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$500+$30	535	$267,500

A few big names bubbled the final table of the WCOOP 2nd Chance 23 tournament. Mike "Pipedream17" Dietrich (10th - $3,210), Michael "Skämmes" Tureniec (11th - $3,210), and Tim "Calvin32" Sullivan (12th - $3,210) each just missed out. Ariel "ArielBahia" Celestino topped the final table to earn just over $50,000.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Ariel "ArielBahia" Celestino	$50,557.50
2	Morten "-MortenVM-" Mortensen	$37,048.75
3	Revjot	$27,285
4	avivnaar	$20,597.50
5	MAMOHT_T	$14,445
6	ROBYRO2010	$11,368.75
7	Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen	$8,693.75
8	C. Darwin2	$6,018.75
9	shimmysham99	$4,092.75

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($160K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	3,559	$355,900

Ben "ShankingYou" Palmer (10th - $2,188.78), Francis "The Lag rat" Anderson (28th - $818.57), and Joshua "theNorfman" Norris (35th - $818.57) were among those who made deep runs in the Bigger $109. Following a three-handed deal, "matmatmat" came out on top for a victory worth $47,514.69.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	matmatmat	$47,514.69
*2	filushh	$36,920.76
*3	YourDead100%	$42,622.74
4	Sheeter 200	$20,464.25
5	Jon "LUFCBas" Spinks	$15,236.07
6	SwedishRules	$11,566.75
7	santiga	$8,007.75
8	aprilsfool	$4,448.75
9	aces_up4108	$2,847.20

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($150K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$150+$12	2,059	$308,850

Among the notables who fell just shy of the Bigger $162 final table were David "highdro420" Rowan (11th - $2,393.58) and Karolis "g.karolis" Grybauskas (16th - $1,312.61). A three-handed deal took place and "AverageGreg" outlasted the field for nearly $41,000.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	AverageGreg	$40,860.08
*2	superkid-bam	$38,225.99
*3	w4ldo	$35,189.44
4	Mike "Timex" McDonald	$19,812.72
5	Mark "scrubbyz" Zajdner	$13,898.25
6	RoyalSalute	$10,809.75
7	Shankar825	$7,721.25
8	mouksli	$5,404.87
9	gomir	$3,088.50

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($300K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$10+$1	32,773	$327,730

The always-massive Sunday Storm drew 32,773 players this week. After a heads-up deal, "stephstealth" got the best of "HamRR" to earn $27,652.71 for the first-place finish.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	stephstealth	$27,652.71
*2	HamRR	$21,319.99
3	TRiggA_mik3	$13,764.66
4	kallecall	$10,487.36
5	bamtobam1979	$7,210.06
6	body passion	$4,424.35
7	LovE_joY111	$3,031.50
8	SLEAH	$2,130.24
9	m92h2010	$1,491.17

*denotes heads-up deal

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($100K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,554	$155,400

Frederico "Vitorbrasil" Conca Silva bested the 1,554-player field in the Sunday Kickoff, taking it down outright for $26,029.50.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Frederico "Vitorbrasil" Conca Silva	$26,029.50
2	Cisko555	$19,036.50
3	sousinha23	$14,374.50
4	ondrejfort	$10,567.20
5	Maskus	$7,614.20
6	genamator	$6,060.60
7	varjo	$4,506.60
8	looksy	$2,952.60
9	PlayaPlz	$1,600.62